NEW: After a national outcry, FedEx has reinstated pay for a Black FedEx driver who alleges that two white men chased and shot at him while he was making deliveries.
Gibson's attorney said yesterday that FedEx had "voluntarily offered to pay for his counseling... but he also has to live,” @KayodeCrown reports. “...He’s gone without a paycheck for over a week now, and they need to do the right thing by him.” mississippifreepress.org/20765/fedex-re…
Today, Gibson's attorney says FedEx "has finally checked on D’Monterrio Gibson and has reinstated his pay retroactive to January 31st."
Gibson's attorney: "They clearly could see when he stepped out of the van that he was a Black man, and they chased this Black man who was in a white neighborhood because allegedly he was suspicious while he was doing this job with a clear FedEx uniform on."mississippifreepress.org/20765/fedex-re…
Gibson criticized Brookhaven Police for their handling of the incident:
“They were too focused on worrying about what people thought about Brookhaven. Like even the (Black police) chief had emphasized that Brookhaven was not racist..." mississippifreepress.org/20765/fedex-re…
Attorney Bryant: "What we’ve seen over the last several years is this emboldened white vigilante that believes that he can tell a black man to do whatever he wants. And if that Black man doesn’t listen, we’re going to take it back to the ‘50s or '40s."mississippifreepress.org/20765/fedex-re…
For background on D'Monterrio Gibson's story, read my report from last Friday:
From Lawanda Dickens: "African American Police Chief Kenny Collins says that his town, Brookhaven, Miss., does not have a race problem. ... Chief Collins supported Officer Jackson, who faced no disciplinary action and still remains on the police force."mississippifreepress.org/20757/brookhav…
This #MFPVoices piece comes in the wake of reporting on D'Monterrio Gibson, the Black FedEx driver who was making deliveries in Brookhaven when he alleges two white men chased him and one began shooting at his delivery vehicle.mississippifreepress.org/20519/black-fe…
NEW: Lilly Ledbetter and the Mississippi Black Women's Roundtable are warning that two equal pay bills advancing in the Mississippi Legislature risk actually widening wage disparities for women if they become law. 1/ #MSLeg mississippifreepress.org/20598/equal-pa…
Mississippi Black Women's Roundtable State Lead Cassandra Welchlin says the House's Equal Pay Act would codify into law a systemic form of wage discrimination by allowing employers to pay women less than men based on their salary history from past jobs. 2/mississippifreepress.org/20598/equal-pa…
Welchlin: “The other thing in her bill is that it is based on the ‘continuity of employment history.’That means it would be OK to pay a woman less than a man for the same job because she took time off work to care for her baby or a sick family member." 3/ mississippifreepress.org/20598/equal-pa…
NEW: D'Monterrio Gibson, a Black FedEx driver, says he was delivering packages in Brookhaven, Mississippi, when a white man in a pickup truck tried to block him in and another allegedly began firing bullets into his delivery truck. mississippifreepress.org/20519/black-fe…
Gibson: "As I’m leaving the driveway, he starts driving in the grass trying to cut me off. My instincts kick in, I swerve around him, and I start hitting the grass trying to get out of the neighborhood because I don’t know what his intentions are." mississippifreepress.org/20519/black-fe…
Gibson: “There’s another guy standing in the middle of the street pointing a gun at my windows... . I hide behind the steering wheel, and I swerve around him as well. As I swerve around him, he starts firing shots into my vehicle.” mississippifreepress.org/20519/black-fe…
THREAD: Thousands of Mississippians will soon be able to access medical marijuana after Gov. Reeves reluctantly signed a limited bill into law despite.
Under the medical marijuana law voters approved in 2020, doctors would've had discretion to treat patients with medical marijuana for an illness if they believed it'd help.
The more restrictive bill Mississippi lawmakers drafted that Gov. Reeves signed only allows medical marijuana treatment for 28 qualifying illnesses, though @MSDH can add others.
Fantastic story on how a conservative white U of Mississippi law student who hoped to have a future in Republican politics is taking a Critical Race Theory class & calls it "the most impactful & enlightening course I have taken."
"Murphree grew up seeing it; critical race theory just gave her a way to talk about it.
At Northwest Rankin High, 'I could just look around & see people in my class, & I could see the racial divide & how people literally said the n-word,' Murphree said." mississippitoday.org/2022/02/02/mis…
Again, this is by @mintamolly at @MSTODAYnews (no connection to the Mississippi Free Press). But it's a really great article and I wanted to share it.
NEW: Students at historically Black colleges and universities in Mississippi spent the first day of Black History Month sheltering in place after four state HBCUs reported bomb threats.
Alcorn State University, Mississippi Valley State University and Tougaloo College have all locked down their campuses following the bomb threats and switched to virtual only class instruction today.
“The recent threats to HBCUs across the country are a shameless attempt to dampen our sense of safety and freedom by attacking locations traditionally considered a haven for all pursuing an education in a nurturing environment," said JSU's president. mississippifreepress.org/20304/bomb-thr…